And Then Time Stood Still
by DevilGirl101
Summary: When she glanced at the pendulum clock, the rotating hands stood still, not daring to move an inch more than what the blonde was able to handle. How would you react to loosing a loved one? AU and a one-shot for New Years Eve!


_**And then Time stood still**_

When she glanced at the pendulum clock, the rotating hands stood still, not daring to move an inch more than what the blonde was able to handle. She sat with a cup of coffee in her hands, staring out the window by a table at the back of the quaint little café. To people passing by she almost seemed in a daze, her eyes glazed over with months of lost ambition for life and the will for moving on, all but crushed in an instant. Who was she?

The blonde would come in every morning, order the same cup of coffee and sit at the same table all day long. She never spoke to anyone, never sipped at her beverage and never turned away from the window. To her it felt like time had stopped and she could do nothing about it. All her thoughts were jumbled up inside her mind, and so she wasn't able to move on and accomplish goals like before. She only had enough energy each day to do what she did when _he _was still alive; and that was to wait at the coffee shop. To wait for time to start ticking again and let her life resume; to get rid of all her worries, to pray that everything will get better and that the stench of a family death would vanish around her. But it never did; at least not her. But unbeknownst to the blonde a young man sat near her table, observing her from where his hand rested on the countertop. It had taken him about a month of coming in regularly to notice her familiar presence and constant routine. Some days he would come in and see her in the corner again, step towards her, hesitate when seeing her dismal expression, then turn around and take his seat at the counter. He himself had lost count of how many times he had retreated to the safety of his seat. Athrun had to admit that even with that somber expression on her face, the blonde girl still pricked his interest. Her features were strong but her eyes sang another song. Their amber color pulled him in the most and from time to time he would find himself looking at her eyes, wondering what story they held. A tap on his shoulder broke Athrun's train of thought and when he looked up one of the waitresses stood before him.

"My shift has ended sir. Did you want me to lock up so long?" His brow furrowed and when Athrun glanced around himself he noticed that the shop was almost empty, excluding the few workers scampering about to get the place cleaned up. He quickly glanced to the side and saw that the table at the corner was already empty and when looking out the window the sun was setting.

When had she left? Athrun stood up and stretch a bit.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then, and don't forget to ring up the till." The waitress nodded her head at him and walked away to finish the rest of her tasks. With that the bluenette strode out of the shop he had bought from the previous owner about a month ago, a small smile on his face. He was a bit disappointed that he didn't get to see the blonde stand up and leave, but it didn't bother him that much.

She would always be there tomorrow.

_**DDD**_

The next day, just as the bluenette had predicted, the blonde came in and sat down at her usual corner. She ordered a cup of coffee and then turned to the window as per usual. She sighed halfheartedly and immediately Athrun noticed that something had changed in her. The blonde seemed different in a way, her eyes having a bit more life in them than the previous times. Her cheeks seemed to have a bit more color in them too. He briefly wondered what had brought on such a drastic change in her. You could see that she was still a bit down, but the change was definitely there.

Maybe. Just maybe he should take the chance and talk to her today. When the waitress came back again with a steaming cup of coffee on her tray, Athrun quickly stopped her along the way.

"Wait, why don't you get working on the other tables? I'll take the coffee to her." At first the waitress frowned but when Athrun extended his hand to take the cup she immediately gave it to him.

"Oh, okay here."

"Thanks." The bluenette turned around and walked over to where the blonde sat. When he placed the cup in front of her she looked up to thank him, but stopped halfway when she saw it wasn't the waitress from before. Confusion danced around in her eyes and momentarily they traveled to his chest where a waiter's nametag would be.

"I'm not a waiter here if that's what you're wondering." She didn't answer at first; she only stared at his face. She must have thought it strange that someone other than a waitress would bring her beverage to the table.

"Thank you?" Athrun gestured to the open seat across the blonde and asked if he could sit down quickly. The blonde hesitated but nodded her head none the less. He pulled out the chair and occupied it.

"I've been meaning to ask you something for quite some time now."

"Some time?" came her puzzled voice. Athrun smiled at her, enough so to put the girl at ease for the moment.

"I see you come in here almost every day and then you leave in the evenings. I was just wondering why you tend to stay so long, if I may ask?"

"How do you know that?" There was a hint of caution in her voice and Athrun couldn't blame the girl.

"I'm sorry. I should probably explain myself. I'm the manager of this shop, my names Athrun. I've seen you before that's why I know."

"You've been watching me?" A moment passed before the blonde decided to move. She stood up to gather her belongings then quickly placed a tip on the table.

"I'm sorry if I was a bother you, that wasn't my intension at all. I'll leave now." While saying all of this her eyes briefly lingered on the broken pendulum clock sitting snuggly on the wall. Athrun followed her gaze then quickly turned his attention back to the blonde when she pushed passed him.

"Wait, I'm not saying you should go. I'm merely curious as to why you're here every day." The blonde continued to walk away, acting as if she hadn't heard him at all. He quickly got up from the chair and flowed her.

"Please wait!' Athrun grabbed at her hand and stopped the girl before she could open the café door and go outside. Her eyes grew large for a moment and a small blush rose to her cheeks when she glanced down at their hands.

"You want to know why I'm here all the time right?" Her sudden question took Athrun by surprise. He had thought it would take a bit more effort to get the answer out of her. He nodded his head and reluctantly let go of her hand. The warmth of her skin slightly lingered on his mind while listening to her.

"Time," was what she started with. Athrun frowned.  
"I don't understand."

"When I'm here it feels like there is no time. Time isn't moving forward and I'm not expected to move along with it."She gave him a small smile, turned around, and then went her separate way.

_**DDD**_

The next day she wasn't there.

To Athrun it felt a bit nostalgic and a part of him wondered if it was his fault that she hadn't showed up that day. Did he scare her with what he said; of how he noticed her routines during the days of when he was there? A part of him also wondered why she would even pretend that time stood still in this shop, when that was impossible. What was it that she didn't want to move passed? His first guess was that something tragic must have happened either to the girl or someone close to her. She was very down to begin with, so it made sense in a way. But what it was Athrun would never know until the blonde showed up at his shop again, and Athrun knew the chances of that happening were very slim.

_**DDD**_

Two months. That's how long it took for the blonde to come back to the shop and show her face. It was ten o'clock and Athrun had just said good bye to the last of his workers, bidding them a happy new year. Athrun had decided to keep the shop open for longer that day, mostly for those who wanted to celebrate New Year's outside of their homes. It was just as he stepped back into the shop that he caught sight of her silhouette across the street. Their eyes met and when Athrun held the door open for her, she came forward.

"Hi."They looked at each other and then Athrun smiled. A part of him was glad she came back but another part of him was surprised as well. After all it had been a while.

"Hey, come in." Athrun left no room for argument and went inside, while the blonde silently trailed after him and closed the door behind her. The bluenette went behind the counter and got out two cups while talking.  
"Are you here to be stalked again, because I think I learned my lesson when you didn't come back the previous time." There was a slight hint of amusement in his voice and luckily the blonde didn't miss it. She smiled and sat down in front of him, all the while watching his every movement.

"I'll admit I was a bit concerned. But I want to thank you actually." Athrun straightened up and proceeded to pour them some coffee.

"Thank me for what? I came forth as a weird lunatic who was wondering why you stuck around all the time." The girl gave a small laugh and with that Athrun noticed that she looked a whole lot better than the last time he had seen her. She seemed rejuvenated in a sense.  
"You seem like your spirits have lifted quite a bit, I'm glad." Athrun paused for a second before continuing. "What is your name by the way?" The blonde scratched her head and blinked a few times.

"Right. You don't know my name, I've completely forgotten."

"Well what is it?"

"Oh, uh, Cagalli." A smirk spread across Atrhun's face. He pushed one of the cups across the counter to Cagalli and then took a sip of his own.

"An intriguing name for an intriguing woman," he added looking at the blonde from over the rim of his cup. A blush formed on her cheeks and it brought a bit of pleasure to Athrun. His eyes traveled to hers and for a slight moment they both just stared at one another. Before the atmosphere got a little uncomfortable Athrun quickly cleared his throat and spoke up.

"You, um said that you wanted to thank me for something?"

"Right!" Cagalli said, taking a bit of her hair and putting them behind her ear.

"With you talking to me the other day, it was different. I haven't spoken to anyone on such a personal level- if you can put it like that-in a very long time" She took a sip of her coffee and then kept on looking down at it.

"I'll admit and say that I've been following a routine and not a healthy one at that. And with you suddenly talking to me the other month -it made me realized that time doesn't stand still." She glanced up.

"I guess what I want to say is that you broke my routine and made me realize that there are still people around me and I can't neglect them." A soft smile appeared on Athrun's face.

"You lost someone dear to you didn't you?" The blond nodded her head and smiled.

"My dad. He was the only parent I had left and it literally felt like the end of the world to me." The bluenette glanced to the wall on his left and a small idea came to mind. He got out from behind the counter and walked to the corner of the café where the blonde usually sat.

"Come over here." The blonde did as he asked and walked up to him.

"What is it?"she asked. She followed his gaze up the wall and it landed on the broken pendulum clock.

"I don't know why but I never did bother to fix that clock. I think it's time to get that thing up and running again, don't you?" At a loss for words the blonde only observed while Athrun got it down and placed it on one of the tables. He immediately set about to strip the clock bare and after a while she decided to lend a helping hand. It was around five to midnight when the clock was back in its rightful place. Both of them stood before the pendulum clock admiring the constant ticking-sound caused from the rotating hands moving about.

"Now you have no reason to go back into a routine," Athrun added beside Cagalli. He gently took her hand into his and held it, causing the blonde to blush. The clock suddenly struck midnight and a low, vibrating sound echoed across the café.

"Happy new year's Cagalli."

_**The End**_

* * *

_**Well I hope you liked it. Yes it's a bit late for new years but I had the idea stuck in my head and this is what came of it. And I know the theme is a bit morbid. I just hope it makes sense and what Cagalli is saying as well.**_


End file.
